The site is an existing, four bedroom, detached house built circa 1945-50 and is situated in a cul-de-sac street with other detached properties of a similar age. Since the house was built, it has undergone a number of extensions: a single storey flat-roofed rear extension, a new porch, a garage extension, a ground floor conservatory extension to the rear of the property and finally in 1993, a first floor conservatory was added, again to the rear of the property. The proposal was to carry out a number of external alterations to the house, namely: the construction of a new, ground floor, single storey rear extension, the installation of a loft conversion, the remodelling of the front elevation and the installation of a new covered porch area. This work entailed a significant amount of demolition to the rear of the property, including the existing ground floor conservatory; the entire two storey extension on the northern corner of the house, including the first floor conservatory and a large section of the back wall of the original house. In its place, a new single storey extension, spanning the full width of the property was built, and contains a new 'family space' living/dining area. Over the course of the building's history it has undergone a number of extensions. Generally these extensions had been added in a piecemeal fashion with little thought as to how the overall property might be affected both visually and architecturally over the course of time. This resulted in parts of the house becoming very discordant. For example, towards the back of the property, the piecemeal extensions formed an architecturally "messy" elevation of differing styles, materials and forms which sat very uncomfortably with one another. Together they instilled an overbearingness upon the garden area which was made worse by virtue of the fact that the garden is north west facing and receives the majority of its sunlight over the roof of the property. Equally on the front elevation, the dominance of the garage extension induced visual competition with the porch and front door which, in turn, suggested a degree of architectural confusion. Therefore part of the overall design concept was a pragmatic response: to simply to correct the aesthetic ailments that have resulted from the previous extensions and restore a sense of architectural proportion, poise and harmony to the house. This was done through judicious 'surgery' on the house. For example, the majority of the loft conversion involved replacing an existing section of flat roof (again a manifestation of a previous extension) with a new pitched roof element, resolving the roofscape into a more harmonious and attractive form. Similarly, by removing the two storey extension at the back of the property, and replacing it with a low, single storey, full width element, it both opened up the garden space and revealed the proportions of the original house. The overall design concept also embodied a distinctly aesthetic approach whereby the proposed extension work - rear extension, dormer windows and porch - were designed in a manner that is clearly distinguishable from the original house, using the style of the house as a foil to 'off set' the deliberately contemporary style of the new work. In doing so, the architectural legibility of the house was greatly improved. All the materials for the proposed extensions were carefully selected to complement (through contrasting juxtaposition in the case of the contemporary additions) the existing house. Where alteration work was proposed on the original structure, for example with the raising of the ridge line, then matching materials were proposed. All the selected materials are of a high quality and long lasting. The proposal had a strong and positive design concept underlying it, involving a distinctly contemporary approach to proposed extension works whilst invisibly 'mending' the features of the original house. This approach resulted in a building of visual legibility and much needed architectural cohesion - all qualities that the house previously lacked.